Death/Black Metal

I wanted to know if there are any death or black metal bassists here and any "special" techniques they may have to technique or writing. I understand the concept of practice, and I understand that there is no short-cuts, I'm just asking for a little light on the subject.

Kingdom Fallen, I played two years in a band that based its sound heavily on Sepultura's last album before they broke up, the one with the Amazon Indian on the front.

We had read in Guitar World magazine that Sepultura tuned down greatly and used heavy guage strings, so that is what we did too. It took quite a bit of adjusting especially for the guitarists. It was easier for me because I play a five string bass.

I used a pick and did mainly downstrokes, but had to switch to alternating up and down when the band decided they wanted to play faster music. I just couldn't do straight down strokes fast enough.

Another thing when you are tuned down like that, you have to pay attention to muting unused strings because the notes can ring forever.

Another thing I would do if I were you is listen hard and often to the bands that sound the most like you want to sound. Try to figure out what effects they are using, how they are tuned, and how they structure their songs...ie. length, verses, bridges, intros, outros, solos or anything that makes their music distinctive. Try to work some of those features into your music at first. Later discard what doesn't work, keep what you like and try new ideas so you can have a sound uniquely your own.

My band eventually moved more toward hip hop/hardcore rather than pure death metal as that seemed to suit our personalities and preferences more, but we still kept the down tuning.